Board Games

[Matthean]

After a halfway walkthrough and seeing I was making a boneheaded assumption about a rule, I went back and replayed San Juan. Much better the second time around. Mechanics are nice, but I have a feeling it suffers from what a number of card games do. The person who can draw the most cards on average wins. At least I can add two more games to the list of games I can teach for my gamers' group on Sunday.

[Danny]

I like San Juan, but since I love race for te galaxy, I would never play San Juan over it, so I sold it away. It's defintely more noob friendly though

[Vince, Pt. II]

So we've played a bunch more Eclipse...tonight's game was my favorite yet (and I finished 4th out of 4). I finally got the Eridani into a good position, and about halfway through looked to be the powerful force on the map as I had pushed into Orion territory with some ridiculously souped up Dreadnoughts, the Planta as my allies at my back and the Hydran Progress off to the side with no military to speak of.

Sadly, I didn't have much of a production line, and when I moved in on Orion for the kill, got some bad dice rolls. I lost my last dreadnought in my push, and my entire system was undefended. The plant stayed put, content to have their choke point defended like crazy. The Hydrans, played by my roommate who has NEVER EVER DONE AN OFFENSIVE MILITARY STRATEGY IN HER LIFE, quickly put together a few cruisers and took complete advantage of my weakness. Forced to fight on two fronts now, I was pushed back...although I managed to create some speedy interceptors for a Neutron bomb rush strategy, the Orion Hegemony was able to recover and take the galactic center before I could press him, and I was never able to push the Hydrans out of my system (damn Axon Computers). Orion ended up winning comfortably, with the Planta second, Hydrans third and little old me last. Apparently being the strength in mid-game leads to everyone gunning for you

We also played our 12th game of Risk: Legacy this evening. Before the game started, we had the leader out in front with 4 victories, three of us tied at 2 victories apiece and the poor cellar dweller in the back with one win. With four games remaining, the guy with 4 wins was in a pretty good position, he just needed to either win a game, or to ensure that one of us doesn't sweep. I played my way to a hair-on-my-chinny-chin-chin victory while one of the other 2-win players tangled with the leader in Australia and Southeast Asia by sweeping through Africa and Europe from South America. The game has been a blast, but with only three games remaining, it's basically a two man race between myself (3 wins) and the leader (4 wins). If either of the other two win players sweeps three in a row, they win...but that's extremely unlikely. It's led to some interesting strategies in the games thus far - the guy in the lead with 4 wins has had nearly everyone gunning for him for multiple games in a row now. It's to be expected, but I'm surprised that some of my compatriots have been "sacrificing" themselves to weaken him. And I'm not going to lie; I've been using it to my advantage. Tonight, I had a chance to cripple the leader (at the expense of my own position), and I decided not to do it. Some of the other players felt they needed to attack the lead guy to keep him from winning...and of course, the very next turn, I swept through the exact point that I had left alone on the previous turn en route to a victory the same turn. My hesitation directly led to the victory.

Tactics like this are awesome when they work out in your favor, as they did for me tonight. On other nights when they don't work out, it's easy to get frustrated and blame the game for introducing "non-traditional" mechanics - one of our players would have never played the way he did tonight if he didn't feel like he had to stop the leader from getting another win. I can't control that, people are going to play how they want to. But it's an interesting twist on the board game. The overall standings are making a huge impression on tactics and logistics. And honestly, tonight I was only a few bad dice rolls away from giving the game away to the guy in the lead, icing the whole game.

[Danny]

I'm undefeated in Eclipse

[tarcone]

Man. I need to quit reading these eclipse debriefings. Im really jonesing to but this game.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Man. I need to quit reading these eclipse debriefings. Im really jonesing to but this game.

Just at least wait for the next wave of preorders to happen. You will not be getting it for cheap right now.

One of the guys in my gamer group who I talked about playing Eclipse with wasn't there during our last meetup, but I told him whenever he wants to get together to play games let me know. Getting people to play outside of the usual group is hard since one person can do Friday, another can't, etc. I fear trying to teach the game to any sort of decent sized group and trying to do so in the time frame we have for the normal gaming group meetup. If I can get 3-4 players who know the game, then there's a chance of it being used in the normal meetup.

[tarcone]

Leaving in a bit to go to my FLGS, Gamenite, to participate in an open board gaming event. Im taking GoT 2nd ed. with me.
There are 13 people signed up. Should make a good time.

[tarcone]

30 people showed up for the game night at the store. I got into a 5 player game of Game of Thrones. We started at about 6 and we finished the game at 10.
I was Baratheon. Early in the game I set my sights on Kings Landing. I made an alliance with Stark to keep himn off my island.
I took the 2 territories around Kings Landing. Got lucky with early mustering. And went after it in round 3. I took it, but Tyrell followed me in and took it from me. I took it back the next round and was able to hold it and start spread south. Greyjoy went after Lannister a bit. But was pretty unsuccessful. He left Stark alone as well. Lannister and Tyrell also were pretty friendly. Tyrell was moving East and snapping up castles, but ran out of steam.
At the beginning of round 10, we had to bid on the 3 tracks. Stark took the iron throne. I was 2nd.
I won the Vaylarian sword.
The crow wasnt that important at that point.
Going into round 10 Tyrell was in the lead with me right behind with Stark. I took one of Tyrells castles, but Stark managed to get 2 to win the game.

There wasnt a lot of back stabbing. That may have changed things. But I was worried about Tyrell and Lannister was on my border as well. And had a siege engine sitting on the border of one of my castles. So I had to deal with that. If there was more back stabbing it would have been a different game, Im sure.
It was a great time. I really enjoyed it. I cvant wait to play a 6 player game sometime.

[mckerney]

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Really engaging episode, but it's driven by the talent.

Dice Towers 2011 Awards.

The Dice Tower - 2011 Awards

[Matthean]

Part 2



Found a new game store but it's heavily geared towards Warhammer. Half of the store has tables for it and I have a bigger collection of board games than they do. They want to expand out, but I think they are going to have some major issues doing so. I don't see them being a top store unless you are specifically talking about Warhammer. It's way back from the road in a strip mall where nearly every other store has closed. The sign for the store looks like a cheap paint job type of deal. There's at least three stores in the Lansing area I would personally rather go into. The thing is, my cousin and some former coworkers play there and one former coworker co-owns it so some of the gang gets together after they get done in retail and open up the shop and play games until whenever.

[EagleFan]

[path12]

I've got a shitload of old AH and SPI games in my garage that are sadly going to waste. EBay seems like a hassle. Is boardgamegeek a good place to try and sell off old games?

I'd kinda like to keep them but it's been like six years now and I can't help but feel that someone could be getting more use out of them.

[Matthean]

Should be easy with a Paypal account although Amazon has their own pay service as well.

[Peregrine]

Depending on the game BGG is possible - some people really like particular games of that kind. I recommend checking them out on the Geek and see if there are any for sale, and if the prices are good - could be your guide.

[dzilla77]

Originally Posted by path12

I've got a shitload of old AH and SPI games in my garage that are sadly going to waste. EBay seems like a hassle. Is boardgamegeek a good place to try and sell off old games?

I'd kinda like to keep them but it's been like six years now and I can't help but feel that someone could be getting more use out of them.

Dean's Fine Games link will buy them from you as well, assuming good condition. Obviously you won't get as much if you sold them yourself, but you will save yourself a lot of time too.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by path12

I've got a shitload of old AH and SPI games in my garage that are sadly going to waste. EBay seems like a hassle. Is boardgamegeek a good place to try and sell off old games?

I'd kinda like to keep them but it's been like six years now and I can't help but feel that someone could be getting more use out of them.

Which games?

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Found a new game store but it's heavily geared towards Warhammer. Half of the store has tables for it and I have a bigger collection of board games than they do. They want to expand out, but I think they are going to have some major issues doing so. I don't see them being a top store unless you are specifically talking about Warhammer. It's way back from the road in a strip mall where nearly every other store has closed. The sign for the store looks like a cheap paint job type of deal. There's at least three stores in the Lansing area I would personally rather go into. The thing is, my cousin and some former coworkers play there and one former coworker co-owns it so some of the gang gets together after they get done in retail and open up the shop and play games until whenever.

Its actually not a bad deal for them to start out this way. As much as I hate to say it, Warhammer and CCGs like Magic are a great way to bring cash into the store, since the players of those games are constantly buying new cards and minis. They need to be slow, I've seen way to many stores try to do too much too soon and go under.

[path12]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Which games?

I've got a list somewhere I'll find.

Basically, one of my hobbies in the early 80's was buying games. I didn't have people around me who were into that sort of thing so it mainly ended up that I would figure out the rules and maybe do a solitaire play or two but many are only partially punched even and other than box/shelf wear and whatever has happened from being stored in my garage for most of the last decade they should be in decent to good shape.

Some titles that come to mind: Gunslinger, Down with the King, Anzio, Russian Campaign, Panzer Armee Afrika, Patton's Best, B12 Queen of Skies, some of the Statis Pro games, old 3M sports games plus Acquire, that sort of thing. For SSI games I remember World War 3 and Conquest of the Middle Ages for sure (I know that used to go for quite a bit on Ebay, my copy is almost completely unpunched).

Anyway I don't want to hijack the thread too much with this. I will put a list together and if anyone might be interested PM me (one person already has) and I'll get you more details.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I've also got a bunch of the old AH General magazines, probably about 20-30 of those as well.

[Mustang]

Path,

Sounds like you have alot of decent games there. Generally box quality doesn't matter too much as it is all in the contents. If you need help in valuation let me know.

If you aren't Ebay savvy, then Board Game Geek would be the way to go. You can offer games for a little less than what you would sell on Ebay just given that you don't have Ebay's cut. (Or.. vice versa.. you'll make more).

I'd avoid Craigslist. Mainly just re-sellers on there that will try to undercut you.

Ideally though, with those titles, would have been nice to get those bundled up and sold at Gencon's auction or store.

As for those still interested in my stuff.. sorry, I've been extremely busy with other items and just haven't really started pulling stuff out. (Well.. a couple things, but way more expensive stuff where I thought it was better to throw it in my Ebay store like my Barbarian Quest Pack, Sealed Dogfight game, etc...)

(my Ebay store is tkgameshobbies. If anyone is interested in anything posted, I can do better than the price in the store)

[tarcone]

Mustang and Path, if either of you come across the game Turfmaster, let me know. This is my grail game.
Or Supremacy. I would love to get my hands on a copy of that. I know I can find it on ebay. But If either of you have it and expansions, I would prefer to deal with you guys.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Mustang and Path, if either of you come across the game Turfmaster, let me know. This is my grail game.
Or Supremacy. I would love to get my hands on a copy of that. I know I can find it on ebay. But If either of you have it and expansions, I would prefer to deal with you guys.

I've never had Turfmaster. I've had Supremacy from time to time, but don't believe I have a copy right now.

[Warhammer]

We're always accepting donations to our convention game library down here! Seriously though, with that group of games, you can probably get a good deal on the Geek from someone.

[tarcone]

Give us details about your convention, Warhammer. Im about 3 hours from Memphis. And I have been wanting to take my wife to Memphis. This could work out really well.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Give us details about your convention, Warhammer. Im about 3 hours from Memphis. And I have been wanting to take my wife to Memphis. This could work out really well.

Search for gameconmemphis, or gameconmemphis.com.

I run the boardgaming portion of the convention, including tournaments. We typically have a turnout between 250 and 275 people. We have LARPs, RPGs, boardgames, and CCGs, as well as a LAN room and a console room. Lou Zocchi is a frequent con attendee. This year we are having a couple of Artemis Starship Simulators set up (think of a the bridge from Star Trek).

Tournaments include Blood Bowl (1st yr), Settlers of Catan, Dominion, and one for Magic as well.

The Game Library has approx. 300 games in it (used to have close to 500, but one of our organizers left recently for Nashville, so his games will not be present this year). We will have some hard to find games like Roborally with Armed and Dangerous, Antiquity, Die Macher, and Republic of Rome. We also have many of the other staples such as Puerto Rico, El Grande, Age of Steam, Railroad Tycoon, Ticket to Ride, Smallworld, etc.

[EagleFan]

Turfmaster - An aspiring gardener dreams of beconing the head grounds keeper for the local professional baseball team. Work your way up through the circuit; start maintaining the lawns of the middle class, soon enough you catch the eye of a local businessman/millionaire and you begin maintaining the lawns of the rich and famous. That is not your real dream, however, so you leave that life to become a grounds keeper for a minor league team. Keep that infield cut right and you may get your shot at the big time!

[Mustang]

Why the hell did I think Lou Zocchi was dead.

[Matthean]

CSI has the Eclipse expansion pack for preorder.

http://www.coolstuffinc.com/p/Board%...oftheAncients/

[Glengoyne]

I got some good boardgames in this weekend. Had a friend come over and he brought his new games.


Ninjato: A worker placement game where you place shuriken stars on various board positions to take those actions. You can steal from "houses" either by sneaking or fighting, supplement your martial skills by training skills in a dojo, or trade stolen artifacts for either "family" influence(think Yakuza) or for various scoring multipliers. A pretty decent light worker placement game, and one that I find more enjoyable than most others I place in that category...Carson City and Lords of Waterdeep. There is a strong Press your luck component to play as you fight/sneak through houses. You need to choose to press on or stop before the next guard is revealed. In any case. I enjoyed this game, and will probably add it to my short list.

Kingdom Builder: This from the designer of Dominion, another light euro game that I really enjoyed and will be looking to add to my collection. I'm not sure how to describe the mechanics other than area control, but that doesn't really describe it. In essence you have to place houses down on the board in groups of three, adjacent to other houses you have placed. Each turn you draw a card to determine what terrain you need to place your houses on. There are Powers you can obtain by placing adjacent to locations on the board, and a set of three scoring cards that randomly define the different methods of scoring for each game. The boards, powers, and scoring cards differ each game, so there is a lot of replayability. In short, this one was a blast. I was instantly wanting to play again, and I think future sessions will be closer to how we play Dominion. As in there will be multiple games played in succession.

The Village: Also a worker placement type mechanic...with a twist though. I'd classify this one as a medium weight Euro. More complex than I can describe here in this forum, but typical in that you have multiple paths to victory and are probably best suited to focus on those scoring actions that you can perform without competition while dabbling in others. I liked this one as well, and look forward to playing again. Unfortunately another game that I'll be looking to add to my collection.

Other stuff we played.
Homesteaders: Medium to Heavy Euro with Auctions and an economic engine building....A game I really enjoy, but rarely succeed at. I initially thought I had won...but then realized that I didn't deduct my debt from my score...Doh!

Snow Tails: My favorite racing game, and I have several of them.

LeHavre: Heavy Euro greatness. I think this is our favorite...nothing save Eclipse hits the table more often. I actually think my play of the iPad app has made me a worse player. My early play left me struggling to advance, and my opponents frequently questioning my plays. I eventually came around and only narrowly lost. Not bad considering that I miscounted the number of turns I had remaining, and missed out on my third shipping opportunity.

All in all, a great day of boardgaming.

[Matthean]

Village is on sale here Welcome — Tasty Minstrel Games

Watched multiple reviews of Kingdom Builder and decided I didn't like how they deal with cards at all.

I have Ninjato, but it's in the rotation to be played. I'm sure by the end of the year it will get a spin, or two.

[Glengoyne]

On the KB cards...I can see the issue...essentially a "hand of one card" doesn't give you many choices. That said, I like that you draw immediately after playing so you can evaluate your options while the other players take their turns. Far better than simply drawing at the beginning of your turn.

As for the random nature limiting options, I look at it like backgammon. Your job is to play so that you manage the randomness. Make decisions that give you options, and make the best out of less than optimal draws.

I'm only two games into it, but I'm liking the pace and the even the handful of strategic options I've stumbled upon so far have me looking forward to another round.

Do have fun with Ninjato when you get it to the table. Oh and the multiplier cards come in big.

[tarcone]

Had the guys over tonight. We got several games in. We played Munchkin, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, Dominion.

Munchkin was a good time. I was at level 9 and couldnt make it in. I got dumped on. Had a level 6 monster fight into something I couldnt win.

Ticket to Ride is ok. I will play it, but it is not one of my favorites. I had the Montreal to Vancouver ticket get blocked. And that killed me. I got dominated.

Pandemic was fun. We won just in time. After we got the cure, we decided to try and eradicate the diseases. Two turns into that we got hit by a chain of outbreaks. We were happy we won when we did.

Dominion. 1st time any of us had played. I really like it. Wasnt sure how much I would like a deck building game. But this had a nice level of strategy. And the replayability of it is insane. Just the base set has 25 different card selections. Then you have the add-ons. Im goign to teach my family this one.

A good time. Our next get together is August 12th. Game of Thrones the board game with 6 people is on tap. Cant wait.

[Tasan]

I've been following this thread off and on, and I don't remember if Quarriors has been mentioned before. Its a "dice building" game (not DECK building), and its pretty fun. My oldest son and I are really digging it, and my youngest son is tagging along with it because he sees the other two of us having fun with it.

Anyone tried it?

Oh and I just got Days of Steam, very much like a Carcassone for trains, but fun in its own right.

[Glengoyne]

I think most times you play pandemic, it comes right down to the wire. that is win or lose.

Dominion is great. I've got almost all of the sets, but we don't play as often as I would like. If you are interested in expansions just look through this thread, and there is plenty of advice.

I like TTR, but my wife whoops me every time.

On quariors. I like it a lot more than I expected to in my one play, I'm just not sure it would hit the table enought for me.

[Fidatelo]

I've been intrigued by Quarriors since I first became aware of it, but I have the same concerns as Glengoyne, that I just wouldn't get to play it enough.

[Matthean]

Since Quarriors is built around dice, I have heard complaints about it the randomness factor in it so you kind of have to like that aspect as well. The new expansion for it is suppose to be rather good though.

[tarcone]

I went to the gaming night at my FLGS last night.
I got to play Eclipse. It was a 6 player game and 4 of us had never played it before.
Im not sure what I think of it yet. I dh idnt get a very good exploration. My tiles were pretty thin. It handicapped me, I think. No discovery tiles. No pirates or ancients.
I made an alliance with each person next to me. So i played the game with no conflict. Kind of getting the feel for it.
We had 2 younger guys playing and they were next to each other. They had an arms race and had a blood bath.
I finished tied for 4th. I got the monolith technology. That was a big help. One guy who had played several times took an alien race that wax a science race. He won. Having his tech trees filled helped a lot.

It is an interesting game. Worth $100? Dont know about that. I have to play it again. But I had fun.

But, one of the guys playing with us plays Twitlight Imperium. I got invited to play one Saturday. So when my schedule frees up, I am going to learn that game.
If you dont know Twilight Imperium, it is a heavier version of Eclipse.
Cost of both games is similar.

[tarcone]

And a heads up.
Target and Target.com are featuring games from Geek and Sundry and Tabletop. They will also feature a game of the month.

Im looking at Target.com right now and the selection is pretty good. Settlers, some Dominion expansions, Lost Cities. And I have just started looking.

If you dont have a game store in your area, but have a Target. Things are looking up.

Geek & Sundry - Geek & Sundry + Target = <3

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I went to the gaming night at my FLGS last night.
I got to play Eclipse. It was a 6 player game and 4 of us had never played it before.
Im not sure what I think of it yet. I dh idnt get a very good exploration. My tiles were pretty thin. It handicapped me, I think. No discovery tiles. No pirates or ancients.
I made an alliance with each person next to me. So i played the game with no conflict. Kind of getting the feel for it.
We had 2 younger guys playing and they were next to each other. They had an arms race and had a blood bath.
I finished tied for 4th. I got the monolith technology. That was a big help. One guy who had played several times took an alien race that wax a science race. He won. Having his tech trees filled helped a lot.

It is an interesting game. Worth $100? Dont know about that. I have to play it again. But I had fun.

But, one of the guys playing with us plays Twitlight Imperium. I got invited to play one Saturday. So when my schedule frees up, I am going to learn that game.
If you dont know Twilight Imperium, it is a heavier version of Eclipse.
Cost of both games is similar.

Just a heads up, TI3 is very much a love it or hate it game. I hate it and know a lot of people that hate it, but I know a good number of people that love it.

Eclipse has a larger fan base, but I think much of it is due to the fact it is a warish Euro. I personally abhor these designs (if I'm playing a war game, I'll play a war game, if I want a Euro, I'll play a Euro).

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Just a heads up, TI3 is very much a love it or hate it game. I hate it and know a lot of people that hate it, but I know a good number of people that love it.

Eclipse has a larger fan base, but I think much of it is due to the fact it is a warish Euro. I personally abhor these designs (if I'm playing a war game, I'll play a war game, if I want a Euro, I'll play a Euro).

The biggest problem with Twlight Imperium is that it takes waaaaay too long to play.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

The biggest problem with Twlight Imperium is that it takes waaaaay too long to play.

Lots of downtime as well. I found Starcraft to be a little quicker, but it was harder for me to pick up the rules quickly.

[Matthean]

I would like to play IT3, but there's no way I would own it. The play time of it simply means there's no way it hits the table even if in a maybe once a year type of fashion.

Originally Posted by sachmo71

I found Starcraft to be a little quicker, but it was harder for me to pick up the rules quickly.

The game could really use some player aids. Even during a second playthrough I felt like I was playing half the game because it's what I knew best.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

The biggest problem with Twlight Imperium is that it takes waaaaay too long to play.

I played older versions of TI way back in the day, and loved it.
I played one game of TI3, well half of a game two years ago, and loved it even more. I went out and ordered it from my FLGS that week. I paid full MSRP...$80, I believe.

Originally Posted by Matthean

I would like to play IT3, but there's no way I would own it. The play time of it simply means there's no way it hits the table even if in a maybe once a year type of fashion.

It has hit the table once.

I took it to a con figuring that I'd get it in, because it should be easy to find the time when you've set aside entire days to dedicate to gaming. Eight to ten hour blocks are tough to come by even at a con. I think I'll be bringing it to the flea market at the con next year.

I love it, but with Eclipse scratching that particular itch, I just can't see this game getting played.

[Matthean]

CSI is doing a Summer Sale and they have Fortress America on sale for $39.99. Retail is $79.95.

Fortress America Board Game - Fantasy Flight Games - Board Games at CoolStuffInc.com America Board Game

The rest of the sale listing. They add daily to it.

Summer Board Game Sale 2012 at CoolStuffInc.com

[Matthean]

I've got 12 plays in with Summoner's Wars doing a tourney with the 12 factions I have. Time to switch to a new game for a bit at least until some of the packs get reprinted with the higher quality stuff. Love the game, but I need a break from it.

DaveCon is next week so it will be fun to see what new games I get to play.

[tarcone]

I just watched a play through video of Twilight Imperium. I really like the game mechanism. And the variety of troops. And the fact that you know the universe. The cards look like they add a lot to the game. And I love that aspect.
Im looking forward to playing it. It looks like a much better game then Eclipse. At least for me. But Ive only played Eclipse once and never played Twilight.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I just watched a play through video of Twilight Imperium. I really like the game mechanism. And the variety of troops. And the fact that you know the universe. The cards look like they add a lot to the game. And I love that aspect.
Im looking forward to playing it. It looks like a much better game then Eclipse. At least for me. But Ive only played Eclipse once and never played Twilight.

You definitely won't be alone in liking it more. If it had the play time of Eclipse, the hype for Eclipse would be way down. Again, I just don't see it getting played on my end. I have Eclipse; my friend has Starcraft. We play casually enough to where due to certain circumstances a game of Starcraft took 11 hours to play the last time. TI3 would be a weekend type of game in that situation. I even proposed rule changes to help speed things along. I had hopes of playing three games that day, and we played one.

[terpkristin]

Am I the only one who sees those names and can't separate it from a horrible sparkly-vampire series?

/tk

[tarcone]

Mathean,
Tell me about Starcraft. Ive only played the video game, which I loved.
I see battle is resolved by cards and not dice.
What other cool things are in this game?

[Matthean]

I've played it twice on like a once a year type basis, so I know I will miss some stuff. Oddly enough someone posted on BGG that it feels like Eclipse-lite even though it has euro mechanics but feels more like a AT type game. I have yet to play Eclipse, but there is definite conflict in Starcraft.

You have worker placement for creating buildings, producing more types of units, and upgrades. You have some deck building that comes from a research phase and those cards can be used for fighting or permanents placed on your side, ie a cloaking device. There is action selection, ie research, where each player places actions on the board upside down and they are revealed in reverse order, so while the first player places their stuff first, their actions go last. There is move, research, build, and fight for actions. When you research, you need to pay for the cost of the card that you research. Resources are found on the planets. Planets also give victory points. Oh, there are gold actions you can take, but you need to unlock them(easy to do). A gold build would be being able to build, but at a reduced cost on something.

Fights are done to the side and I can't recall if the defender, or attacker gets to sort how the fights are split up. The initial units are the ones fighting and anything behind them are there for support, ie typically adding +1 to overall damage. You can play a single card for the main unit and a support card if you have one. Cards will have specific units on it. If the unit on the card matches with the unit, it has one set of numbers for damage and defense. If the card doesn't, it uses the lower set numbers on the card. Fights can be far more dynamic than line up and add numbers together as units bring certain special abilities into play like splash damage which hits adjacent units as well.

Victory conditions can be the standard VP total. There are other ways to win though. I'm not 100% fun of the instant win conditions regardless if they can come later. You don't have to play with them though.

Planets can ground and air spots so in order to land on an air spot, you have to have an air unit. You can tap your starting planets for extra resources beyond your normal amount you get per turn, but you need to watch out for them to not get stripped either. As you add planets, you obviously get to tap those as well. Starting player places his planet and then other players attach theirs where they want to. After that players place their gateways.

There are event cards that happen and the cards are grouped into three groups. You reveal one per turn and once when I think somebody researches, but can't or something. Again, bad memory here. The events get more and more dynamic as you play along. Leaders I think are part of the expansion, but they add another element to the game as, IIRC, they give you different starting bonuses.

Issues, previously mentioned instant win conditions. Planets are picked randomly. This adds to replay, but it can give a player an unfair advantage. Race balance. There are two versions of each race. I think it's the alternate version of the all-around race that gets to pick their starting planets and get some nice benefits later on. Unsurprisingly, the Zerg start out well, but I'm not sure about long term with them. It's not a true 4X due to the planets all being laid out so there's no real exploring.

I would definitely feel more comfortable giving a solid opinion until I got about 3 or so more plays in. I would give it a weak 7-8 rating right now. 8 sounds about right if nobody grabs their instant win condition as a benefit. For those who have played the PC and board game, they have mentioned the board game does a really good job of representing the PC version. One aspect I really do like is how the action selection is handled so when I saw something similar to it in Strike of the Eagle, I put that on my order with the Eclipse expansion pack. I think I could have won my first game if I had done the action sequence better. I think my next game I'll feel like nearly a legitimate threat. So yeah, seems like there's a lot going on, and there is, but enough of it makes logical sense that it's not that bad to pick up despite the manual being like 40+ pages. It also has an obvious coffin box sized box as there's just a ton of stuff that comes with it.


Via: BGG

Note, Starcraft was the first game to have deck building in it. Dominion wasn't out since it was in playtesting phase. Dominion still is the first official deck building game as it's primary mechanic though.

EDIT: Of course I missed something. Cards during fights are played face down and then revealed at the same time.